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National Naval Exercise with International Participation Breeze 2024 to Begin Today

Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Bulgaria

04.07.2024

The national naval exercise Breeze 2024 with international participation begins today, 4 July. Until 14 July, the exercise will be conducted in the territorial sea, the contiguous zone and the exclusive economic zone of the Republic of Bulgaria and sites announced beforehand.

Breeze 2024 will boast participation of naval vessels, aircraft, unmanned underwater vehicles, diving teams, and staff officers from the Navies of Bulgaria, Albania, Belgium, UK, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Romania, USA, Türkiye, France, the Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM), the Special Operations Command Europe (SOCEUR), the NATO Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Centre (NMIOTC), the NATO Naval Mine Warfare Centre of Excellence, the NATO Force Integration Unit (NFIU) in Bulgaria, the Defence Staff, the Joint Forces Command, the Land Forces, the Air Force, the Rakovski National Defence College, the Special Operations and Counter-Terrorism Directorate of the Ministry of Interior, and representatives of governmental institutions, state agencies, and non-governmental organisations.

On 6 July 2024, the ships from the Mine Countermeasures Task Group Black Sea (MCM Black Sea), which will also take part in Breeze 2024, will call at the port of Burgas.

The primary objective of the exercise is to improve the interoperability and interaction between the participants in the exercise by means of carrying out joint tasks and a wide range of combat actions at sea in a crisis response operation and dealing with the consequences of major accidents and incidents.

Breeze 2024 is the twenty-eighth iteration of the series of exercise, continuing the tradition already established in previous Breeze editions: to practice inter-agency cooperation and interaction with non-governmental organisations and private companies in multinational environment. Four ministries, twenty-four state institutions and departments, governmental and non-governmental organisations, voluntary associations, and private companies will be taking part in the exercise.

For yet another year, the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), which monitors the implementation of relevant legislation related to the reduction of the risk of maritime accidents, loss of life at sea and marine pollution from ships, will also participate in the exercise.

The planning and scheduling of the exercise was effected at the direction of Rear Admiral Kiril Mihaylov, Navy Commander, who is also Exercise Director of Breeze 2024. The Officer Conducting the Exercise (OCE), serving also as Officer Directing the Exercise (ODE), is Captain (Navy) Vanyo Musinski, Chief of Staff of the Navy. The commander of the multinational task force is Flotilla Admiral Velko Velkov, Commander of the Flotilla of warships and auxiliary ships.